ENCE 455

Design of Steel
Structures
IV. Laterally Support Beams
C. C. Fu, Ph.D., P.E.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department
University of Maryland

Introduction
Following subjects are covered:
Introduction
Stability
Laterally supported beams
Serviceability
Shear strength
Concentrated loads
Biaxial bending
Reading:
Chapters 7 and 9 of Salmon & Johnson
AISC Steel Manual Specifications Chapters B (Design
Requirements), F (Beams and Other Flexural Members), L
(Serviceability Design), and Appendix 2 (Design for Ponding)
2

Introduction (cont.)

Flexural members/beams are defined as members acted upon primarily by

transverse loading, often gravity dead and live load effects. Thus, flexural
members in a structure may also be referred to as:

Girders usually the most important beams, which are frequently at wide spacing.
Joists usually less important beams which are closely spaced, frequently with truss-type
webs.
Purlins roof beams spanning between trusses.
Stringers longitudinal bridge beams spanning between floor beams.
Girts horizontal wall beams serving principally to resist bending due to wind on the side of
an industrial building, frequently supporting corrugated siding.
Lintels members supporting a wall over window or door openings

Introduction (cont.)

Beam

Girder

based on FloorFraming

Example of a Typical Floor

Plan

Example of a Typical Steel

Structure

Each joist supports

an area equal to its
span times half the
distance to the joist
on either side.
The joists transfer
their loads to the
supporting truss
girders.

Roof deck transfers load

to supporting joists.
Load rests on roof deck
The pier supports half the
area supported by the truss
girder plus area from other
structural elements that it
supports.
Each truss girder supports an
area equal to its span times
half the distance to the girder
on either side.

Joist Roof Load Path by Tributary

End Wall
Framing
For lateral pressures, the
siding spans between the
horizontal girts (yet another
fancy word for a beam!)
The girts support half the siding
to the adjacent girts. This is the
tributary area for one girt.
The girts transfer their lateral
load to the supporting beamcolumns.
The beam-columns transfer
their lateral loads equally to
the roof and foundation.
8

Stability

The laterally supported beams assume that the

beam is stable up to the fully plastic condition,
that is, the nominal strength is equal to the plastic
strength, or Mn = Mp
If stability is not guaranteed, the nominal strength
will be less than the plastic strength due to

Lateral-torsional buckling (LTB)

Flange and web local buckling (FLB & WLB)

When a beam bends, one half (of a doubly symmetric

beam) is in compression and, analogous to a column, will
buckle.
9

Stability (cont.)

Unlike a column, the compression region is restrained

by a tension region (the other half of the beam) and
the outward deflection of the compression region
(flexural buckling) is accompanied by twisting
(torsion). This form of instability is known as lateraltorsional buckling (LTB)
LTB can be prevented by lateral bracing of the
compression flange. The moment strength of the
beam is thus controlled by the spacing of these
lateral supports, which is termed the unbraced
length.
10

Stability (cont.)

Flange and web

local buckling
(FLB and WLB,
respectively)
must be avoided
if a beam is to
develop its
calculated
plastic moment.
11

Stability (cont.)

Four categories of behavior are shown in the figure:

Plastic moment strength Mp along with large deformation.

Inelastic behavior where plastic moment strength Mp is achieved but little rotation capacity is exhibited.
Inelastic behavior where the moment strength Mr, the moment above which residual stresses cause inelastic behavior to begin, is
reached or exceeded.
Elastic behavior where
moment strength Mcr is
controlled by elastic
buckling.

12

Laterally Supported Beams

The stress distribution on a typical wideflange shape subjected to increasing

bending moment is shown below

13

Laterally Supported Beams

(cont.)

In the service load range the section is elastic as in (a)

When the yield stress is reached at the extreme fiber (b), the yield moment My is
Mn = My = SxFy
(7.3.1)
When the condition (d) is reached, every fiber has a strain equal to or greater than y = Fy/Es, the plastic
moment Mp is
(7.3.2)
Where Z is called the plastic modulus

M P Fy ydA Fy Z
A

14

Laterally Supported Beams

(cont.)

Note that ratio, shape factor , Mp/My is a property of the cross-sectional shape and is
independent of the material properties.
= Mp/My = Z/S (7.3.3)
Values of S and Z (about both x and y axes) are presented in the Steel Manual
Specification for all rolled shapes.
For W-shapes, the ratio of Z to S is in the range of 1.10 to 1.15
(Salmon & Johnson Example 7.3.1)

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Laterally Supported Beams

(cont.)

The AISC strength requirement for beams:

bM n M u
(7.4.1)

Compact sections: Mn = Mp = Z Fy

(7.4.2)

Noncompact sections: Mn = Mr = (Fy Fr) Sx =0.7FySx

(7.4.3)

MP
M

(
M

M
)
n
P
p
r
(7.4.4)

p
r

Partially compact sections

where = bf/2tf for I-shaped member flanges

= h/tw for beam web
r, p from Salmon & Johnson Tables 7.4.1 & 2 or AISC Table
B4.1 (Salmon & Johnson Example 7.4.1)
Slender sections: When the width/thickness ratio exceed the
limits r of AISC-B4.1
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Serviceability of Beam

Deflection
AISC Section L3: Deformations in structural
members and structural system due to service loads
shall not impair the serviceability of the structure
ASD -
4
max = 5wL /(384EI)
As a guide in ASD Commentary L3.1
- L/240 (roof); L/300 (architectural); L/200 (movable
components)

Past guides (still useful) listed in Salmon & Johnson

- Floor beams and girders L/d 800/Fy, ksi
to shock or vibratory loads, large open area L/d 20
- Roof purlins, except flat roofs, L/d 1000/Fy

(Salmon & Johnson Example 7.6.1)

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Serviceability of Beam

Ponding (AISC Appendix 2, Sec. 2.1)

Cp + 0.9Cs 0.25
Id 25(s4)10-6
where
Cp = 32LsLp4/(107Ip)
Cs = 32SLs4/(107Is)
Lp = Column spacing in direction of girder
Ls = Column spacing perpendicular to direction of girder
Ip = moment of inertia of primary members
Is = moment of inertia of secondary members
Id = moment of inertia of the steel deck
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Shear on Rolled Beams

General Form v = VQ/(It) and average form is

fv = V/Aw =V/(dtw) (7.7.7)

AISC-F2
vVn Vu(7.7.11)
where

v = 1.0
Vn = 0.6FywAw for beams without transverse
stiffeners and h/tw 2.24/E/Fy
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Concentrated Loads
AISC-J10.2

Rn Ru

(7.8.1)

Local web yielding (use R1 & R2 in AISC Table 94)

1.

2.

Interior loads
Rn = (5k + N)Fywtw
End reactions
Rn = (2.5k + N)Fywtw

(7.8.2)
(7.8.3)

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Concentrated Loads (cont.)

AISC-J10.3

(cont.)

Web Crippling (use R3, R4, R5 & R6 in AISC Table 94)

1.

Interior loads

N t w
(7.8.8)
2

Rn 0.80t w 1 3

2.

End reactions
(7.8.9) 2
N
Rn 0.4t w 1 3
for N/d 0.2 d

tw

t
f

tw

EFywt f

tw

1 .5

(7.8.10)

4N
t w
for
N/d>0.2
2

Rn 0.4t w 1
0.2

EFywt f

d t f

1.5

t f

EFywt f

tw

1.5

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Concentrated Loads (cont.)

AISC-J10.4 (cont.)

Sidesway Web Buckling

1.

When the compression flange is restrained against rotation

for (h/tw)/(Lb/bf) 2.3
(7.8.7)

C r t w3 t f

h / tw

Rn
1 0.4
2
L /b
h

b f
if > 2.3
Rn = no limit
2.

When the compression flange is not restrained against rotation:

for (h/tw)/(Lb/bf) 1.7
(7.8.8)

h / tw
t w3nt=
f no limit
if > 1.7 C rR

Rn
0.4
2
L /b
h

b f

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General Flexural Theory

M x I y M y I xy
I x I y I xy2

M y I x M x I xy
I x I y I xy2

(Salmon & Johnson Example 7.10.2)

(a)

Angle free to bend in any direction

(c)

Angle restrained to bend in the vertical plane

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Biaxial Bending of Symmetric

Sections

AISC-H2
f bx f by

1
Fbx Fby
M uy
M ux
Sx

b Fy b Fy

(7.11.3)
Sx

S
y

(7.11.6)

(Salmon & Johnson Example 7.8.1)

(for concentrated loads applied to tolled beams)

(Salmon & Johnson Example 7.11.1)

(for biaxial bending)
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